Father Vs Son In PMK: S Ramadoss Says It Was A Mistake To Make Anbumani A Union Minister, Blames Him For BJP Tie-Up

In an unprecedented public fallout, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss on Thursday (29 May) said that it was a mistake to have facilitated his son Anbumani Ramadoss' entry into the Union Cabinet, accusing him of hindering the party’s growth and forcing an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“I did a mistake by making my son Anbumani a Union Minister when he was 35. He forced an alliance with the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” Ramadoss said at a press conference from his Thailapuram residence, as reported by The Week.

The 85-year-old leader, who recently removed Anbumani from the post of party president, said he would convene a general council meeting if needed to remove him entirely from party posts. Anbumani currently holds the title of “working president” — a designation now being challenged by the senior Ramadoss, who has reclaimed full control as “founder-president”.

According to a report by The Hindu, Ramadoss accused his son of acting in a disruptive manner, recalling a recent general council meeting where Anbumani publicly protested the appointment of Mukunthan, the founder's grandson, as youth wing secretary.

“The way he flung the mic, which barely missed hitting me on the head, was unseemly and witnessed by all present,” Ramadoss said, adding that such behaviour "lacked leadership qualities" and had “shattered a big mirror” within the party.

“He told Kumaran to resign and called me to ensure Kumaran, who came with his family, did not attend the meeting,” said Ramadoss, as per the report by The Hindu.

Anbumani had earlier stated, in a meeting in Dharmapuri, that he was “under mental stress” and unclear about his removal from the party president’s post — a comment his father dismissed as a sympathy tactic to distract party cadres.

Ramadoss, who said that he founded the PMK by visiting over 95,000 villages, said he was deeply pained that decades of organisational work were being undermined by his son’s actions.

The unfolding feud within the Ramadoss family has once again brought internal dynamics of the Vanniyar-backed PMK into the public eye, raising questions about the party's future direction and leadership.